Wesley P. Kellet

Wesley P. Kellet (died 1899) was the "Most Grandiose Scribe" of the Louisiana Chapter of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1890s. He was a believer in scientific racism, and he left his family and school to make his fortune in the American West and create a utopia for whites. However, he burned to death while attempting to help a Klan initiate whose robes had caught fire during a cross burning.

Biography
Wesley P. Kellet was the son of a Christian preacher, and he later became a student of science, studying social Darwinism and coming to believe that co-mingling between the races was both wrong and dangerous. He had an argument with his father about his views in 1899, with his father invoking Jesus while talking about racial equality. Kellet stormed out of the house, and he later wrote his father apologizing for leaving, but defending his views, saying that he did not care what Jesus or anyone else said, and he asserted his scientific racism by comparing humans to big cats or trees and discussing their need to stay with their own kind. Kellet also announced that he was leaving college, and apologized for the amount of money that his father spent, but said that school was full of fools. He then headed out to the American West with the goal of making his fortune and proving his theories correct, and he criticized his father, mother, and brother Teddy for being educated and white while opposing his views. Kellet sought to form a utopia of white people like him, and he joined the Ku Klux Klan's Louisiana chapter.

Kellet became Secretary (Senior) of the Louisiana klavern, which had an incredibly small number of members. At a meeting of just 6 Klansmen, he announced that all official titles would be changed: he would become Grandiose Scribe (Most), his assistant would become Grandiose Scribe (Least), Senior Warlock would become Grand Satyr, the job title of Kaiser would remain banned (as it had been since August 1898), he sought to make the robes less flammable, he pointed out how membership dues were 87% under the quarterly target again, he sought new initiation ideas (as tarring and feathering was unpopular with the wives), he wanted to focus on the recruitment drive again, he wanted to find all the "brilliant and talented men" in their community who had something to give to the cause, he wondered if other religious symbols apart from the heavy wooden crosses could be burned at rallies, and he concluded that women sould still not be allowed into the organization.

Death
One night in 1899, Kellet attended a Klan rally in Scarlett Meadows Parish with the other members of the Klavern, intending on initiating a new member. The initiate successfully lit the cross, but as he celebrated, a spark touched the back of his robe and set him ablaze. Kellet tried to assist the initiate, but his robes also caught fire, and the two men died in the horrific accident, which was witnessed by Arthur Morgan.